1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mounting means for a vehicular windshield bag and to a windshield bag mounted onto a vehicle""s windshield employing the mounting means. More particularly, this invention relates to a mounting assembly which includes a windshield bag spacer and to the mounted windshield bag.
2. Description of the Related Art
Windshields of vehicles open to the environment, such as motorcycles, snowmobiles, all terrain vehicles, and boats may be fitted with a windshield bag mounted on the driver""s side of the windshield for housing convenience items a driver would like to have handy, for example, sunglasses, sunscreen lotion, tissues, keys, and small tools. Such windshield bags are generally mounted onto a support member of the windshield and are positioned so as to minimize obstruction of the driver""s view of the terrain ahead.
Windshields of such vehicles are typically curved to provide wind deflection with minimal impact on the forward motion of the vehicle in use. At least one windshield support member is provided as horizontal support for the curved windshield approximately at its center for stability. The support member or members follow the horizontal contour of the curved windshield and are attached to the windshield by screws or bolts. The support members are typically curved metal strips made of stainless steel or other metal which has been plated, such as with chrome, or painted. Gaskets for weather- and shock-proofing may be provided between the windshield and the support member(s).
Windshield bags are generally made of weather resistant materials, such as leather, vinyl, and nylon. The bags generally include a flap provided with a closure means, such as a turn clasp, and conventional bags have a small metal piece with center hole riveted to the back of the bag for mounting purposes. For example, conventional bags are mounted by removing one of the windshield support member fasteners, generally the center fastener, re-inserting the fastener through the center hole of the small metal piece from the inside or the outside of the bag, followed by reattachment of the fastener to the windshield support member. Such a small metal piece typically measures about 25 mm by 50 mm and has a thickness sufficient for this purpose ranging upwardly from about two mm. The dimensions of the metal piece are purposely kept small so as to permit conformation of the metal piece to the curve of the windshield.
After mounting, the windshield bag itself generally warps to conform to the curve of the windshield as well and herein lies the problem which the present invention addresses. Conformational warping of the windshield bag makes the bag more difficult to open by means of the turn clasp provided on the flap, more susceptible to water getting into the bag so that the contents are undesirably wetted, and less pleasing aesthetically.
Indeed, over time the creases and folds introduced by warping of the bag cause the material of the bag to crack and otherwise age and become unsightly, particularly if the bag is made of leather or vinyl, so that the useable life of the bag is lessened and the expense of replacement becomes necessary.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicular windshield bag mounting assembly which permits mounting of a generally planar windshield bag onto a curved windshield while maintaining the generally planar structure of the bag so that warping of the bag is substantially prevented and the useful lifetime is substantially extended by up to about ten fold.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mounted vehicular windshield bag in which the generally planar structure of the windshield bag is maintained so that warping of the bag is substantially prevented and the useful lifetime is substantially extended by up to about ten fold.
These and other objects of the invention are accomplished by providing a vehicular windshield bag mounting assembly which permits mounting of a windshield bag having a generally planar structure onto a support bar of a curved windshield of a vehicle while maintaining the generally planar structure of the bag so that warping of the bag is substantially prevented. The vehicular windshield bag mounting assembly comprises a bag spacer having a curved side surface which engages the support bar of the curved windshield in use and a flat side surface; a backer plate which is flat, which is inserted into a windshield bag in use to support the windshield bag, and which is attached to the flat side surface of the bag spacer; and fastening means for attaching the backer plate to the flat side surface of the bag spacer, and for attaching the bag spacer to the support bar of the curved windshield.
The bag spacer and the backer plate are provided with respective pluralities of through holes through which fastening means extend. The fastening means may be at least one device selected from the group consisting of screws and bolts. The fastening means may be a plurality of machine screws.
The bag spacer may be provided with a plurality of through cuts which extend from the curved side surface through the flat side surface in order to reduce the weight of the bag spacer. The bag spacer includes a top surface and a bottom surface, and a plurality of weep holes may be provided in the bottom surface of the bag spacer through centers of respective ones of the plurality of through cuts for water drainage.
The bag spacer includes a top surface and a bottom surface, and respective flange portions may be provided on the top surface and on the bottom surface which extend from the curved side surface of the bag spacer toward the support bar of the windshield in use so that the flange portions straddle the support bar to provide positioning stability.
The fastening means for attaching the backer plate to the flat side surface of the bag spacer may be different from the fastening means which fastens the bag spacer to the support bar of the curved windshield in use. The fastening means which fastens the bag spacer to the support bar of the curved windshield in use may be one of screws or bolts which extend from the support bar.
The vehicular windshield bag mounting assembly may further comprise a modified shoulder bolt having a head provided with a hexagonal recess and a longitudinal threaded bore defined there through. The modified shoulder bolt is accommodated substantially within the bag spacer for fastening the bag spacer to a threaded fastener which extends from the support bar of the windshield in use. The bag spacer then may further comprise a notch defined in the curved side surface at a center portion thereof and a central through bore which extends from the curved side surface through the flat side surface of the bag spacer, which has a diameter effective to receive the modified shoulder bolt and a counterbore provided in the flat side surface which at least partially receives the head of the modified shoulder bolt.
A mounted vehicular windshield bag which permits mounting of a windshield bag having a generally planar structure onto a support bar of a curved windshield of a vehicle while maintaining the generally planar structure of the windshield bag so that warping of the bag is substantially prevented, comprises a windshield bag having a generally planar structure; and either embodiment of the vehicular windshield bag mounting assembly described above.